Earl Shilton Castle Yard

In the civil parish of Hinckley.
In the historic county of Leicestershire (Modern Authority of Leicestershire, 1974 county of Leicestershire).

Medieval motte and bailey castle surviving as a mutilated earthwork. Castle founded in the mid C11 and demolished in the late C12. The circular motte is 50m in diameter and 3m high on the south side, and 1.5m high on the north side and is flat topped. The remains of the ditch and part of the bailey can be seen on the south side, but are much mutilated.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Earthworks remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP47049820

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 337907

• Web site links
  • http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/140/earlshiltoncastle.htm
• Books
  • Cantor, Leonard, 2003, The Scheduled Ancient Monument of Leicestershire and Rutland (Leicester: Kairos Press) p31
    Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p35
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p141 [slight]
    Salter, Mike, 1993, Midlands Castles (Birmingham) p45
    Pevsner, Nikolaus; revised by Elizabeth Williamson with Geoffrey K Brandwood, 1984, Buildings of England: Leicestershire and Rutland (Harmondsworth)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p253
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Wall, 1907, in Page, Wm, (ed), VCH Leicestershire Vol1 p158
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p413
• Journal Articles
  • Creighton, O.H., 1997, 'Early Leicestershire Castles: Archaeology and Landscape History' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol71 p30-31
    Cantor, Leonard, 1977-8, 'The Medieval Castles of Leicestershire' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol53 p35-6